Vest Alex and Vest Olympic
}} The Vest Alex and the Vest Olympic are prewar Japanese cameras taking 4×6.5cm pictures on 127 film, sold from 1936 until maybe 1941 or 1942. Dates: , p. 334–5 mentions advertisements for the Vest Alex dated 1936 to 1938, and advertisements for the Vest Olympic dated 1941. A catalogue said to be dated 1942 is still listing the Vest Olympic. The Vest Alex was sold by Misuzu Shōkai between 1936 and 1938 Dates: , p. 334. and it was replaced by the Vest Olympic sold by Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō. The actual maker of the body is unknown, but the shutter of the Vest Olympic was certainly made by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō, the dependent company of Riken that was making the bakelite Olympic cameras. The Vest Adler and Regal Olympic are variants about which few is known. General description All the models have a metal body and the lens and shutter seembly is mounted on a bright metal telescopic tube. There are tabs on each side of this tube to pull it forward. The tubular finder is in the middle of the top plate and the advance knob is on the left end. The release lever is on the shutter housing and the lens is front cell focusing. The back is hinged to the right and film advance is controlled by red window. Some models (perhaps not all) are dual format and can take 3×4cm exposures. The Vest Alex The Vest Alex was introduced first and was sold by Misuzu Shōkai from 1936 to 1938. An advertisement dated March 1936 Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in , p. 59. offers the camera for as a new model and makes no mention of 3×4 exposures. (The lines in the viewfinder delimiting the frame for 3×4 pictures are not visible in the advertising picture, perhaps because it is heavily retouched. All the actual examples observed have such lines.) The lens of the Vest Alex is an Erith McKeown, p. 692, says Efith but it is a typo or a misreading. The advertisement read エリス (erisu). Anastigmat 75mm f/6.3. The shutter is called Complete and gives B, 25, 50, 100 speeds. The shutter plate is marked Vest Alex at the top and COMPLETE at the bottom, with an intricate logo on the right, perhaps reading MS for Misuzu Shōkai. The back leather is certainly embossed Vest Alex. Minor variations are known, they are described below in the presumed chronological order. The early examples Example observed in a Yahoo Japan auction and example pictured in the advertisement dated March 1936 reproduced in , p. 59. have a conical advance knob and lack the metal film flanges at the top right and at the bottom. The viewfinder is black painted and the back is opened by pulling a lever. The tripod thread is at the right end of the bottom plate and it is slightly offset to the front. The shutter plate has no decorative strips and two screws are visible. The markings use a thin font and the logo is directed inscribed on the plate itself. The speed is selected by a movable index and the settings are engraved on the shutter plate in the B, 25, 50, 100 order. The aperture scale has 6.3, 8, 10, 12, 15 positions. The middle examples Example pictured in McKeown, p. 692. have a larger and lower advance knob and metal film flanges on all other corners. The tripod thread in inside one of these flanges, at the right end of the bottom plate. The viewfinder is chrome finished and the back is opened by sliding a button. The shutter plate has attached decorative strips and the logo is probably a separate part too. These parts have certainly fallen off in the example pictured in McKeown, p. 692. The markings use a bolder font. The aperture scale has 6.3, 8, 11, 16, 22 positions. On the late examples, the speed is selected by turning the shutter rim and the settings are engraved in the 100, 50, 25, B order on the rim itself. Example pictured in this page of the AJCC and lens and shutter assembly observed for sale at a Chinese dealer. The Vest Olympic The Vest Olympic is based on the Vest Alex with an f/4.5 lens. It is said that it was introduced around 1938. The Vest Olympic is briefly mentioned in an advertisement published in the 1938 issue of the British Journal Photographic Almanac. The 1938 release date is also given in Ricoh kamera no subete by Arimura (p. 8) and by Tanaka (p. 16). The body is exactly similar to the Vest Alex. One example has been observed with a black accessory shoe added to the right of the viewfinder but this is perhaps not original. This example is pictured in , item 3042, and in Tanaka, p. 16 of Ricoh kamera no subete. A small copy of one of the pictures is also reproduced in this page of the Ricoh official website. In the only picture of the back observed so far In this page at Japan Family Camera. , only one red window is visible in the middle, with a pivoting black cover and Vest Olympic embossed in the leather above. It is currently unexplained how the camera can be dual format and take 3×4 exposures with a single red window, except in the most crudest way, only taking eight exposures in 3×4 format. The lens of the Vest Olympic is an Ukas Anastigmat 75mm f/4.5 and the shutter is a Fiskus. The speeds are selected by turning the shutter rim, engraved 25, 50, 50, 100, 150, T, B in that order. The shutter plate is marked VEST OLYMPIC at the top and FISKUS at the bottom, with an AKK logo on the right certainly standing for Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō. The lens and shutter equipment is thus identical to the Semi Olympic. The Vest Olympic was listed in the compiled in October 1940, for ¥42. , type 2, section 5A. The camera was offered for the same price of in an advertisement dated September 1941. Advertisement published in Asahi Camera and mistakenly giving a 50mm focal length, reproduced in , p. 64. The advertisement was inserted by Doi Shōten and it says that the camera was sold (not necessarily made) by Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō. A catalogue said to be dated 1942 still listed the Vest Olympic for ¥48. Catalogue of Gold Camera Kōgyō-sho observed in a Yahoo Japan auction. The Vest Adler A Vest Adler has been reported with a Ukas Anastigmat 75/4.5 lens, a Fiskus shutter and a telescopic tube. It is probably a name variant of the Vest Olympic. Camera reported for sale at a dealer. The name "Vest Adler" is also mentioned in the list of cameras distributed by Riken given by Tanaka, p. 8 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no. 14. The Regal Olympic An advertisement published in the 1938 issue of the British Journal Photographic Almanac shows a Regal Olympic dual format (4×6.5 and 3×4) camera. Advertisement published in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938, pp. 694–5. This advertisement was inserted by Asahi Bussan, the distributor of the Olympic cameras, that was bought by Riken and reorganized as Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō in 1937. The presence of Asahi Bussan in an advertisement dated 1938 probably reflects more than anything the long delays needed at the time to publish in Great-Britain an advertisement from Japan. According to the advertising picture, the Regal Olympic seems to have a metallic body and to be a modified version of the Vest Olympic, that is also briefly mentioned in the advertisement. The knobs on each end of the top plate are different. It looks like the lens and shutter assembly is mounted on a helical pulled out by turning a massive metal ring, an arrangement similar to the bakelite Olympic models. The camera is offered with a Ukas Anastigmat 75mm f/4.5 lens and a shutter announced as "Olympic System". The speed settings are engraved on the speed rim in that order: T, B, 25, 50, 100, 150 (unlike the Fiskus of the Vest Olympic). The shutter plate is marked Regal Olympic at the top and has an AB logo on the right, certainly for Asahi Bussan. The Regal Olympic is otherwise unknown. It is suspected to be a version of the Vest Olympic, modified with a helical instead of the telescopic tube to fit better in the Olympic range. Miscellaneous Shutters giving T, B, 1–250 speeds and f/3.5 lenses were advertised in the 1938 British Photography Journal Almanac as "available on request". Advertisement published in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938, pp. 694–5. None has been observed since. Notes Bibliography * Advertisement in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938, edited by Arthur J. Dalladay, published by Henri Greenwood & Co., Ltd., London. Pp. 694–5. * Arimura Katsumi (有村克巳). "Rikō Ryakushi" (リコー略史, Ricoh short history). Pp. 6–7. * Items 16 and 51. * * Pp. 692 and 747. * Items 3042 and 4017. * Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Rikō kamera no nagare" (リコーカメラの流れ, Evolution of the Ricoh cameras). Pp. 8–11. * Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Senzen no kamera 1: Orinpikku" (戦前のカメラ1・オリンピック, Prewar cameras 1: Olympic). Pp. 12–16. Links In Japanese: * Vest Alex in a page of the AJCC website * Vest Olympic in the Ricoh camera list of the Ricoh official website * Vest Olympic at Japan Family Camera * Pages of the Asacame website: ** Vest Olympic among the 127 film cameras from A to Z ** Riken 127 film cameras Category: Japanese 4x6.5 viewfinder Category: Ricoh Category: V Olympic, Vest